Dress Up Day
by pottermum
Summary: It's the first week of muggle primary school for Lily and Hugo and the school is hosting a dress up day for the students and their families, with awards given to the best dressed family. The Potter's are sure they've got this one in the bag. Canon compliant


"So you really don't know what Ron and the kids are going as?" called Ginny, watching Albus wriggle as he tried to pull up his tights. She gave him a hand at the end, trying to smooth down his hair as she handed him his mask.

"No, I told you, Hermione had to go to that emergency meeting with the muggle Prime Minister, so Ron's going in her place, but he didn't say as what, when he floo-called late last night," called back Harry, still in their bedroom by the sounds of his somewhat distant voice.

"Don't forget my cape, Mum, that's the best part," reminded Albus, excitedly. `

Ginny flung it around him and fastened it. "There! Oh Al, you look so good! Harry, get in here, you need to see this!"

"I'm kinda busy here, Gin," called Harry. "Damnit, hold still, James!"

"Damnit! Damnit, damnit," she heard James repeat, then laugh maniacally. Ginny heard Harry chastise him but whatever was going on with James' costume was making him swear even more, to James' delight, who continued to parrot his curse words.

It was Lily's first week at the muggle school her brothers and cousins, Rose and Hugo, attended, and it was meant to be a fun morning for the parents to dress up and mingle with other parents and meet their children's teachers. Ginny was surprised that Harry had agreed to go, for he had missed both James' and Al's first dress up days due to work, to his own disappointment. There had been subsequent Book Weeks and pyjama days, but Harry had seemed as excited about this as the kids as they selected their theme and then gone to find costumes

Now that she and Albus were ready, Ginny decided to go and give Harry a hand with their eldest, but she was distracted by her youngest, who wandered into Albus' bedroom, struggling to hold her belt up. It was clearly too big for her, because it was actually a part of Harry's costume, not hers.

"Mummy, is it time to go?" she asked, excitedly.

"Um Lil, I think that's part of daddy's costume, not yours," said Ginny.

"But daddy's has lots of cool gadgets," complained Lily, throwing herself on Albus

bed, laying on her stomach. "Mine has none."

"I'm gonna go and show dad how I look," said Albus, running out.

Ginny smiled as she watched him run out, then focused on her daughter. Ginny copied her, falling face first onto the bed, so she and Lily were face to face.

"I didn't want to say anything while Albus was here, you know, the statute of secrecy and all that, but..." Ginny's voice trailed off, hoping Lily would be curious enough to ask.

"What, Mummy?" asked Lily. "I thought we can't do magic at muggle school."

Ginny beckoned her close, then looked around to make sure nobody else was listening. "You can't," she agreed, then lowered her voice, " but one thing I didn't want to say in front of Al is that your gadgets onyourbelt are...invisible! Only girls can see them." It was worth the white lie to see Lily's reaction.

Lily's mouth dropped open in wonder and her eyes lit up at the possibility.

"But there'll be no reason to show off any magic, or use any special gadgets at school today," stated Ginny, something they reiterated almost daily to the children, especially James.

Lily thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Daddy too?"

"Daddy too," nodded Ginny. "Actually, we should go and – "

"Gin, James is sort of ready, but now I can't find my belt," yelled Harry, interrupting. There was a pause, then, "Oh, no, it's all right I found it."

Ginny mentally counted to five, then –

"Gin, the damn belt doesn't fit, I think the store gave me the wrong one," he yelled.

Ginny stood and held her hand out for Lily. "Let's go swap utility belts with daddy, is a phrase I never thought I'd say, but let's go."

Lily took her mummy's hand and skipped as they went to find daddy. She had to keep one hold on her belt, still wrapped around her waist, but in danger of falling off.

They found Harry in front of a mirror in the bedroom, who was offering helpful hints.

"A necklace, perhaps?"

Harry tried it round his neck, then shook his head. "No, that's not right.

"Daddy," giggled Lily, running to him. "Daddy, here." She handed over the black belt and took the yellow one from him. Ginny knelt to help fasten hers on, silently pointing out the points where the invisible special gadgets were. Lily nodded in understanding.

"There, I'm done!" announced Harry, satisfied. He turned around to show his costume to Lily and Ginny; Albus was in James' bedroom.

"Oh Harry!" exclaimed Ginny, taking him in from top to toe in black latex.

"You look good, Daddy," giggled Lily. "Is it time to go."

But her daddy was too busy gaping at her mummy to reply, so she shrugged and left.  
"I'll go and get Jamie and Al," she told them.

"Harry," purred Ginny, " You look –"

"What the bloody hell, Gin?" demanded Harry, taking in her outfit, " you can't go looking like that!"

"Why not?" asked Ginny. She looke down at her outfit. "I thought it was just like the movie. The guy at the costume shop said I looked fine. Well, 'smoking' is the word he used, but that's good, right?" she asked, uncertainly.

She turned around to check out the back of her costimes in the mirrow, which muttered, " hubba hubba!"

"Shut it!" growled Harry, standing in front of Ginny to block the mirror's view. "Gin, it's...it's..."

"What?" she asked him, hands on her hip.

He stepped forward, slipping an arm around her svelte waist, even after three kids. "You look unbelievably sexy," he told her, running his hands over her faux leather outfit.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she taunted, "although I think your chest is bigger than mine."

Harry laughed as he looked down at the six pack and muscly chest that came with the costume.

Ginny's hands settled on his hips and they shared their first kiss of the morning.

"Ew, Batman and Catwoman should not kiss," protested Albus, dressed as Robin, crossing his arms.

Harry released Ginny. "Al, you look great! You'll make the best sidekick ever!"

"Really, dad?" Al's eyes shone bright as Harry put his hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

"I've got to get some photos," muttered Ginny, hurrying down the hall, her tail swishing behind her.

Harry watched her go, then became aware his two youngest were watching him curiously. "Er, let's go check on James, shall we?"

Lily ran ahead, knocking on James' door. "Jamie, come on, it's time to go. Come out!" School was still so new and exciting to her, and she didn't want to get in any trouble by being late.

By the time Harry and Albus arrived at James' door, he had opened it. "You know what, I really love my green hair," he announced. "I might keep it like this forever."

Harry chuckled, taking in his eldest son. He had just helped James paint his face white, with an evil looking laugh on his face. His green hair clashed horribly with his uncle's shrunken, lurid magenta robe.

James pointed at his father. "My enemy," he declared, in character.

"You smudged your lipstick," Harry dryly told him.

James sighed. "Da-ad," he whined, as Harry led him back to the bathroom to wipe the smudge off.

"Come on, come on," encouraged Lily, already running down the hall.

"We don't want to be late," agreed Albus, running after her.

They didn't want to be late, but by the time Ginny had taken plenty of photos, then swapped so Harry could take some of her with the kids, and they grabbed the school bags and into the car, they were rushing up the school's walkway to the hall where the families could gather.

"We're gonna be the last ones, I know it," muttered Al, gloomily.

"Did Rose tell you what she and Hugo were dressing up as?" asked Ginny, as they finally made it to the hall.

"She just said it was going to be really cool," shrugged Albus. "Mum, there's my teacher." He took Ginny's hand and they went to see Mr Thackery. Harry scowled to see several of the male parents' heads turn to watch Ginny and her swishy tail.

"Hey, there's Pete. Bye," said James, and disappeared into the crowd to find his friend.

"Hello Lily, don't you look wonderful." An older woman who Harry guessed was Lily's teacher was smiling at them both.

"I'm Batgirl," said Lily. She took Harry's hand, "and daddy is Batman."

"Oh, Mrs Rowling, nice to see you again," said Ginny, arriving suddenly. "Are you dressed as a witch?"

"Yes, of course," laughed the teacher. "I even have my own wand." She waved it around and the end lit up.

"Harry, I found Ron. You have got to see what he and the kids are dressed up as," chuckled Ginny.

"Oh yes, Mr Weasley; such a shame Mrs Granger-Weasley couldn't make it. In fact, you should all go and stand over there," pointed Mrs Rowling. "The family awards are due to be judged shortly. Principal Skinner and Superintendent Chalmers are among the judges. I do believe your family are in with a decent shot at winning," she smiled, as both James and Albus returned to the family.

Albus looked hopeful. "Do you really think we can win?" he asked hopefully.

James scoffed. " Of course we'll win. Dad's Batman, you're Robin, Lily's Batgirl, mum's Catwoman and I'm the Joker. "It's in the bag, Al." He let out a maniacal laugh.

"Ah, but you haven't see Uncle Ron yet," said Ginny. "come on, Harry, you have got to see this!"

Harry followed Ginny and the kids, even as he was looking around for Ron, figuring he would be easy to spot. But there was no sign of him, until he heard his name called out.

"Uncle Harry, over here!" It was Rose, looking adorable with her bushy hair tamed into two plaits and wearing a blue skirt, a black top and purple cape that seemed familiar. It all made sense when he caught sight of his best mate.

"Wha-" He couldn't help but laugh.

"Hi Uncle Harry, hi Aunt Ginny," greeted Rose.

"Well, look at the two of you," admired Ginny. "Anna" – Rose nodded brightly, and Ginny looked at Ron, chuckling – "and Elsa."

Ron, seeing Harry try not very hard to keep his laughter in check, came to stand in front of him. "Something you want to say, Potter?" he asked, defensively.

Despite his fierce look, it was hard to take him seriously. His dress was blue sequins on the bodice, with blue satin on the bottom. He wore a long white cape and white satin shoes. His usual Weasley hair was covered with a white wig, with a long plait down one side.

"Sorry, I – sorry, I'll let it go," teased Harry, making Ginny giggle, till Ron whipped his head around to glare at her. He then looked back at Harry, sizing him up. "Who are you, anyway?" He tossed his plait over his shoulder.

Harry stood, hands on hips, feet slightly apart. "I'm Batman," he said, the trademark line in a dark husky voice.

"And I'm Robin," announced Albus, mimicking his father's stance; hands on hips.

"Rose," squealed Lily, arriving with Hugo," you look just like Anna."

"Aw Hugo, you look adorable," gushed Ginny, for her youngest nephew was dressed as Olaf, the snowman. "Albus said you were going to look cool, and you do."

Hugo waved one of his stick hands in thanks, but Rose frowned.

"I told James we were dressing up as 'Frozen'," corrected Rose, "not 'cool'."

"Blimey, Ginny, what are you wearing?" asked Ron, eyes wide as Ginny leaned over to kiss Hugo.

"I'm Catwoman. Meow," she purred sarcastically.

Ron turned to Harry. "You let her out in public looking like that?" he asked, gesturing to his sister.

"Let me?" asked Ginny, eyes blazing behind her mask. "Nobody _lets_ me do anything, Ronald Weasley!"

"Are you mad at my dad cos he looks prettier than you?" asked Hugo, reminding the siblings just what they were there for, and they calmed down.

"Yes, sweety, your dad is very pretty today. Come on, we need to take lots of photos of him," urged Ginny, taking his and Lily's hands. "I'm sure Uncle George will love to put the photos up in the store."

Ron scowled as he and Harry followed Ginny and the kids. "The things you do for your kids, hey," he said gloomily.

"The least you could have done is shave your legs, Ron," teased Harry, " you _are_ showing a bit of leg, mate."

The teachers quickly grouped the family's together. A lot of families had come in their favourite football colours and jerseys, although two women and their three daughters had come as the Spice Girls, and there was a family who had come dressed as the Royal Family. As far as Harry could see, his family or Ron's were most likely to win. Their only other competition seemed to be a family of six who had come dressed as The Addams Family.

Over the kid' heads Harry and Ron made eye contact, with Ron quirking an eyebrow at him; Harry nodded silently in reply. The competitiveness between them needed no voice, it was understood the challenge was on.

All the teachers walked past to look at them before casting their votes. Harry became aware that Al's teacher was spending an inordinate amount of time ogling Ginny, so he scowled at the teacher and drew her to his side. The man flushed and continued down the line.

"My hero," she whispered in his ear, and he began to wonder just how much longer they needed to stay at the school. That costume was doing things to him.

The principal began to hand out individual awards; Harry was most impressed with a kid dressed as Big Ben. Most were dressed in a lot of muggle celebrities that Harry, Ginny and Ron weren't aware of but there were a lot of clowns, cowboys, princesses and astronauts, as well as a lot of Elsa's and Anna's, especially in the younger year levels.

"And now for the family awards, in third place we have ...the Ellacot family, dressed as the Addams Family!" announced Principal Skinner, to polite applause.

"In second place we have...the Potter family, dressed as characters from the Batman movies," he continued.

The applause was louder, thrown in for some wolf whistles. Ginny leaned closer to Harry to whisper in his ear, " obviously the man doesn't realise Al and Lily are dressed as characters from the television show!" She sounded smug, that she knew something muggle-ish, that a muggle didn't.

"And the winner, by popular vote, was the Granger-Weasley family, dressed as characters from Frozen," announced the Superintendent.

"Yes!" cried Rose, racing over to accept the prize.

Ron smiled smugly at Harry as he helped Hugo waddle over to stand with Rose. "Mummy's going to be so proud," he told them.

They posed for a photo with the principal and the superintendent, with Rose proudly holding the voucher for the local bookstore they'd won, while Hugo waved to his aunt, uncle and cousins.

"Please enjoy some refreshments set up over in the corner. Children, regular lessons will start at the second bell after recess, when you'll return to your classrooms" the principal finally announced.

He turned to Ron, who had been joined by Harry and Ginny. "Thank you all for coming, I do so enjoy meeting the parents of our newest students. I'm sure Hugo and Lily will do fine at our school, just as their older siblings have done. And Mr Weasley...well done. It's exceptional to see a father so comfortable in himself that he'd wear a dress like that for his children. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more parents to meet." He turned and, after an appreciative look at Ginny, hurried away.

Ron puffed out his chest. "Hear that," he nudged Harry, "I'm exceptional," he said smugly, as they made their way to the refreshment table.

"I'm sure Hermione agrees," said Harry.

"Speaking of, you'd think the cleverst witch of our age would be able to transfigure a woman's costume into another one, wouldn't you?" mused Ginny. "I mean, she could have changed the costume to erm, to erm...?" Ginny was unfamiliar with the many characters in the popular movie, as Lily had tended to like the same movies as her brothers.

"Hans? The handsome yet ruthless prince?" suggested Ron. "Or Kristoff, the handsome yet humble ice harvester."

Harry and Ginny stared at him. "What?" he asked defensively, " Rosie loves that movie, she watches it all the time."

"Rose does? Or you do?" challenged Harry.

Ginny sighed, looking at the unappealing refreshment table. "Wanna get out of here?" she asked her husband, slipping an arm around his waist.

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "Want to go to the Leaky?" They farewelled their children and began to leave the school. Ron was yet to obtain his drivers licence so the family apparated nearby each school day.

"Not with you dressed like that," said Harry, shaking his head. "Next thing I know I'll be reading in the Prophet how I'm cheating on Gin with a blonde haired woman."

"Ha," scoffed Ron, tossing his plait over his shoulder, "You should be so lucky, you're hardly my type." He walked with them to their car.

"Actually, I meant Harry," said Ginny, looking at him. "Didn't you want to show me that thing?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"What thing?" asked Harry, confused.

"You know, that _thing_." She seemed to be trying to impart knowledge to him via a pointed look. She licked her lips slowly.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, then tampered down his enthusiasm, shrugging, "oh, that thing. Yeah, I suppose I could show you that."

Ron looked suspiciously between the two, then shrugged. "I really don't want to know."

Ginny patted his arm. "Probably for the best, big brother." She and Harry hurried to the car, whispering to each other.

"Well, where are _you_ going?" asked Ron, hands on his hips. _Rude, just to leave him there. _

"Harry's going to the Bat Cave," said Ginny, winking at her husband, who flushed and couldn't look his best mate in the eye.

"The what?" asked Ron. A car drove past and tooted him, he waved in reply. "Do I know him?" he asked them, puzzled.

"No, but I think he wants to know you," teased Ginny, opening her door. "Bye Ron."

"So I'll just go home, I guess, get changed. May as well go to the shop," sighed Ron.

"Sounds good, see you later, bye," said a disinterested Ginny, slamming the door. She and Harry drove off.

"Suppose I could go and see if Hermione's back, let her know how things went here," muttered Ron, trudging to the apparation point closest to the school.

Another car past him, tooting its horn. Ron waved again, despite not knowing who the driver was.

"Such friendly people around here," he noted, hitching his dress up as he prepared to cross the road.

Maybe he _should_ ask Hermione why she hadn't thought of transfiguring his costume to a more manly one.


End file.
